The UK’s Barclays Bank is at the centre of a fight between a Northern Ireland based Christian group and LGBTQ activists over the practice of conversion therapy.
That battle is underway in a court hearing in Belfast while on the mainland the government announced last week it has extended its deadline regarding consultations it instituted to ban the controversial practice, Newsweek reports.
Barclays decided to cancel bank services for Core Issues Trust (CIT) because of its support of men and women experiencing unwanted homosexual behavior who are voluntarily seeking change in their sexual preference, expression and/or gender identity.
Based in Northern Ireland, CIT offers talk therapy, more specifically what’s called “SAFE-T” (Sexual Attraction Fluidity Exploration in Therapy).
The ministry’s CEO Mike Davidson launched legal action against Barclays seeking damages and claiming unlawful discrimination against his Christian beliefs and political opinions after the bank canceled the nonprofit’s account. He is supported by Christian Legal Centre of the nonprofit advocacy group Christian Concern.
Lawyers for Barclays are working to have the case dismissed.
“Over two years on, we are still seeking justice in this case. Barclays Bank has shown a concerning lack of care or remorse for the impact this has had on our ministry and the precedent this potentially sets for other businesses,” Davidson said in a statement, noting that the case started in July 2020. “Can you imagine the outcry if an LGBT charity had been treated in such a way?”
During that time, it’s alleged that CIT received over 300 nuisance phone calls and myriad intimidating messages from LGBTQ activists along with a threatening text to Davidson expressing the desire that his staff’s family members be raped and killed.
“The coordinated campaign resulted in our ministry coming under immense pressure and key service providers cancelling their services, action which we consider to be discriminatory,” said Davidson. The incidents, he said, took place well before the government proposal to ban “conversion therapy” came into play.
“If a social media mob can cause a bank to close the account of a Christian ministry, then there is nowhere for biblically faithful Christian ministries to go,” he added.
“The vitriol aimed at Core Issues Trust from LGBT activists has been building for well over a decade,” said Andrea Minichiello Williams, CEO of Christian Concern. “Calls to ban ‘hate prayer’ and ‘conversion practices’ show that if it is therapists now, it will be church leaders next.”
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